Atletico Madrid star was once signed for just £24!

Atletico Madrid defender Diego Godin was signed for a bargain of £24 back in 2003 when he joined Cerro.

Diego Godin is now of the best centre-backs and has had a fantastic season with Atletico Madrid. However when he was 17 he was signed for just £24.

Godin began his youth career in his homeland of Uruguay and his first club was Defensor Sporting, however things weren't progressing greatly for him so he decided to return home and finish school. By the time he was 17 he wished to return to football and Cerro expressed an interest in signing him.

The central defender was still on the books of Defensor Sporting however and therefore a fee had to be paid to secure his services. Defensor weren't too bothered about him leaving so agreed a minimal fee of 840 pesos – which converts to just £24. The Uruguayan giants will be kicking themselves now that Godin has established himself as a world-class centre-back. They didn't even insert a sell-on clause and Cerro got one of the bargains of the century.

Godin played for Cerro for three years before moving to Nacional where he instantly became captain at the age of 20. He has since established himself in La Liga first with a three year spell at Villarreal and then with current La Liga champions Atletico Madrid.

When he joined Atletico Madrid even then the fee was relatively modest. He was signed for around £6.5 million which represents great business in this day and age. Godin scored the all important goal as Atleti clinched the title with a 1-1 draw against La Liga. The 28-year-old nearly made it an even more memorable season when he scored the opening goal in the Champions League final against Real Madrid. However that game was to end 4-1 to Real after extra time.

Josh McLoughlin

Josh is a 21-year-old aspiring Football journalist based in Preston/Manchester and a huge Preston North End fan. His own blog aloadofballs1.wordpress.com takes a look at many Football issues from across the world and has attracted views from all over the world, from Nepal to Peru.